iCelerate – High Sierra Industries assembles and donates 600 face shields to Washoe County School District to help teachers and students

Pictured: Michael Brueggert (left) and James MacNamara of High Sierra Industries, Inc. represent many HSI employees responsible for making more than 600 face shields donated to Washoe County schools.

iCelerate – High Sierra Industries (HSI) has been long-time professional partners with the school district by providing professional development training for the special education department and teacher aids. HSI provides learning methods and positive techniques using behavioral reinforcement for students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs).

“Learners use a variety of senses when absorbing information. The face shields provide an extra layer of protection for educators and students throughout the day during in-person learning,” says LaVonne Brooks, CEO iCelerate – High Sierra Industries.

“I am so grateful to HSI for this donation,” says Kurt Thigpen, incoming WCSD Board of Trustees. “I’ve talked to many teachers and students who were asking for face shields and I know this donation is going to put a lot of minds at ease and keep folks safe.”

Team members with HSI’s iWork job training and employment program cut and assembled the 600 face shields. While practicing safe workplace protocols, in addition to our contract work, HSI also found a way to give back and help our community, most importantly, to those students and teachers to help keep them safe while they teach and learn.

Thanks to a grant from The Nell J. Redfield Foundation, we were able to purchase the raw materials for making the face shields. They were delivered to the Washoe County School District who will distribute them.

“People with disabilities are just like you and me and with our heightened abilities to evaluate situations through a lens of equity and inclusion, we’re able to quickly identify a need or deficiencies in processes. It’s what we do every day in our learning systems that help people with disabilities. We identified a need with students and teachers in our community and put our assembly skills to the test to produce 600 face shields.” Brooks added. “We are so thankful to The Nell J Redfield Foundation for their support.”